May 31

Chicken Tomato Roast

Chicken Recipes,Kerala Dishes,Kerala Syrian Christian Recipes,Recent,Simple Kerala chicken roast recipe,Spicy Recipes,Updates Comments Off

Let’s just pretend that there wasnt a small break in between the posts. After all, without the game of the pretending, its kinda impossible to deal with the stuff around you, right? While we are still on the game of pretending… for the past few days, I was pretending that I didnt have a food blog at all! There’s no MariasMenu, no dotcom, nothing…. I just wanted to cook, without worrying about teaspoons & tablespoons, without worrying about how to plate the dish, without worrying about whether I’ll get the right color in the photos, without worrying about what to write as intro etc etc..you get the picture, right? I guess, now that phase is over and I’m slowly switching back to the blogging mode. There is a reason why I did that, but I’ll tell you about it later ;)

About this recipe…somehow I’ve a soft corner towards recipes that have ‘roast’ as its surname. Yeah, I do love their family. They usually have a thick bonding between the ingredients (read thick gravy) & some how I like that strong bonding thing ;) I’m referring to the Kerala style roasts here. One of my fav recipes here is the prawns roast, I just love it. So when I saw this chicken tomato roast, I was sold instantly & it didnt disappoint me. I do hope you will also like this.

 

(Btw, we had some issues with our comments section lately. Though we fixed it, I might have missed a few comments in between. So if you havent got a reply yet, please do buzz me again, ok?)

Here goes the recipe:

  1. Chicken – 1/2 kg
    For Marination
  2. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
    Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
    Vinegar – 1 tsp
    Salt – to taste
    For Masala
  3. Onion – 3, sliced
    Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tbsp, each
  4. Coriander Powder – 2 1/2 tsp
    Red Chilli Powder – 1 1/2 – 2 tsp
    Garam Masala – 1 tsp
    Fennel Powder (perumjeerakam) – 1/2 tsp
  5. Tomato – 2, sliced
  6. Thick coconut milk – 3/4 cup
  7. Curry leaves
    Salt
    Oil

Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces with ingredients listed under ‘for marination’ & keep in the refrigerator for half an hour. Shallow fry the marinated chicken pieces till it becomes golden brown & the chicken is half cooked. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan. To the same pan, add sliced onions & salt. Cook till onions become golden brown in color. Add ginger & garlic paste & cook for  3-4 minutes. Add coriander, red chilli, garam masala & fennel powders. Fry for a minute or so or till the oil starts appearing. Add sliced tomatoes & curry leaves. Mix well & when tomatoes become soft add fried chicken pieces & give a good stir. Add thick coconut milk & cover & cook till the gravy is very thick. The chicken pieces should be cooked well & coated well with masala. This curry has a semi gravy consistency.Serve hot with rice/roti/appam.

Notes: I used sunflower oil for this, but I guess coconut oil works best & I’m planning to use it next time. I didnt fry the chicken pieces, I just cooked the marinated chicken pieces in a non stick pan with very little oil.

Recipe source: Adapted from Vanitha

Why not leave a comment? Quick, head on over to MariasMenu.com for more tasty, delicious and simple recipes! Remember to check out the Recipe Index to find some easy-to-cook dishes. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about MariasMenu!


May 26

Melon rind Koottu / Melon rind & Moong dal Curry

Moong dal,Veg curries Comments Off

Blame the scorching heat, the green large round water melons are still abundant here in TN. Well, it’s a fact that a few weeks ago I was so carried away by this creative girl who made this pretty looking cake with the fruit and soon some stuff with its rind, the innovative  melon rind dosa ! Seriously, I couldnt wait even for a moment to try this. Rather for than the sweet red watery flesh enclosed, I was impatiently reaching for the ‘glamourless’ thick green cover.Undoubtedly the dosa proved to be a huge hit!
The rind tastes almost like ashgourd but bit harder and with a container full of it, I tried Koottu or Parippu curry the following week which was again a hit! The recipe is a bit more inclined towards the Kerala way :)

 Get ready with:

 Moong dal/pasi paruppu/cherupayar parippu, lightly roasted- 1/2 cup
*Melon rind pieces- 1 1/2 cup
 Green chillies slit lengthwise- 4
 Grated coconut- 1/2 cup (1/4 cup if you dont prefer mildly coconutty)
 Small onions-4 nos
 Garlic- 1 large clove
 Turmeric and Jeera Powders- 1/4 tsp each
 Salt – to taste

To Season:

Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Small onions- 6 nos, minced fine
Red chilly- 1 broken into 3 pcs
Curry leaves- 1-2 sprigs

A 3ltr pressure cooker- to make the job easier

* Yup, you have to be much patient with this part. Cut the melon into halves and cut across again to make quarters. After you scoop out the red flesh of the fruit, Peel off the thick green outermost skin and you are holding the half inched sturdy chunks of rind.Cut them into pieces of equal size as you see in the pictures.And before you keep them away, hold for a moment and enjoy the pretty looking pieces on your chopping board :)

The remaining part is not that difficult..
Grind coconut, small onions and  garlic to a smooth paste adding enough water.Keep aside
Give a quick rinse to the roasted moong dal and transfer to the pressure cooker. Add 1 1/2 cups, more or less, water, melon rind pieces, slit chillies, both the powders, stirring in the coconut paste. Wait until 2-3 whistles. Put off fire, vent out steam, open, and season.

Seasoning- Heat oil in a small pan / kadai, splutter the mustard seeds and brown the minced onion until the aroma spreads.Put off fire, throw in curry leaves and pour over the curry.

Serve warm with Rice or any Indian bread and enjoy the mild, simple, comforting curry as we did :)

May 23

Caramel Custard (with custard powder)

Desserts,Egg,Milk Comments Off

I wanted to post this before I packed off for the holidays and then I was obsessed exploring the new camera and proceeded posting a recipe with the picture shot from that.
Well, now this one is contributed by my earlier cam and you can clearly see that, I believe ;)

Caramel Custard had probably been my first trials with desserts as a 12 year old. Believe me, I never used to go wrong with this recipe and always came out with the firm golden coloured puddings with the moist deep brown coating, which never went bitter as well.
Amma always used to try the same recipe with a little difference and that was nothing but the addition of custard powder instead of Vanilla.
This always made the pudding firmer and more comforting and never had the ‘eggy’ flavour like in mine..

And here goes her recipe,

You need,

Milk- 500 ml
Eggs- 3
Custard powder (vanilla flavoured)- a tbsp
Sugar- 2/3 cup, scant

1. Caramel- Melt 3 tablespoons of sugar in a saucepan or a stove top pan (which you can also use as a mould af ter you pour in the custard mixture) until golden brown or a bit darker as you see in mine. Remove from heat and set it aside ( if you use the same utensil for setting the pudding later). Do not panic if the caramel hardens and if you happen to hear mild cracking sounds :) . It is natural and after you pour the custard and set the pudding, it melts and coats the bottom in a uniform way.
If you use separate moulds, lightly grease them and  transfer about 1- 1 1/2 tsps of caramel, while it’s still hot and swirl around gently so as to coat the bottom. Set aside.

2. Custard- Stir in custard powder in 3/4 cup of milk in room temperature without lumps. Keep aside.
Bring the remaining milk to boil adding the rest of sugar. Simmer for a few seconds (not much as the addition of custard powder, which follows, compensates) Stir in the custard powder milk mixture carefully keeping the fire low taking care not to form any lumps until well blended. Remove from fire. Stir in lightly whisked eggs , gently.

3. Cool the mixture and fill the moulds. Cover each of them with butter paper tied around the mouths. Steam in medium heat for 10-15 minutes. If using oven, place the moulds in a flat tray and then fill the tray with water. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and bake in 140 deg C for 20-25 minutes.

Remove, chill and serve.

With brilliant pictures of perfectly shaped caramel custards carefully ‘unmoulded’ all over the blogosphere, I know this is an imperfect one, just a casual slice which I could reserve for the day light shot which much effort ;) after the dinner, the previous night.
I poured the custard on the utensil which I used to caramelise sugar being a bit lazy to wash the extra vessels. ;)

Just wanted to share the recipe with you as it is easy to make and tastes really good!

May 19

Seasoned Ripe Mango & Raw Mango Chutney

Chutneys,Salads - Raita's - Refreshments Comments Off

I just wait for the mango season to fulfill my mango craving. Season started off with all the sour mangoes and some ripened mango, that was watery in taste. I think i will have to wait till june to get some juicy and delicious ripe mangoes. Here is a ripe mango recipe and a sour raw mango recipe. Both are so contrary in taste. Of course if you get some good delicious ripe mangoes, just eat it as

May 10

Eggless Vanilla Cupcake With Chocolate Frosting

Baking Recipes,Cake Recipes,Dessert Recipes,Eggless Baking,Eggless Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting,Recent Comments Off

We are meeting after a small gap I guess? Yeah…my last post was around Easter time. I was hoping to say hi to you in between but didnt work out. Something or the other popped up just like that. Anyways, what news at your end?

I’m here with a baking recipe after a long time. It’s mainly because baking has taken a back seat recently. I was trying so hard to cut down on my sugar & butter intake, but it only increased my cravings & ended up having more from outside :( Anyways I baked these cupcakes when some friends came over. It was such a pleasure to bake after a long time & these little cuties did a good job in motivating me to start baking again. After all there is nothing like good old vanilla cake smothered with chocolate frosting.

Btw, I didnt tell you..these are eggless cupcakes. Though I’ve posted some eggless bakes before, it’s not party stuff…That was mainly some healthy bakes. Nothing wrong with that, but I do prefer some sugar & butter high when I’m in a mood to celebrate :) Yep, I’m in a mood to celebrate. You remember Adi boy, my nephew? Well, I’ve two nephews now, my brother & family is blessed with a cute little fella, Siddharth on 5th May. I’m so looking forward to meet him & also my niece Liana :)

Talking about celebration, no celebration is complete without chocolates, right? Check out See’s Candies. They have a great collection of chocolates designed for special occasions like these. Their varieties include truffles, candy bars, sugar free etc; I’d like to try their Springtime Truffles, it looks so delicate & smooth. I’m sure they will make an awesome gift item too. I for sure dont mind receiving a beautifully wrapped Chocolate Box as a gift ;)

Now, shall we hop on to the recipe?

Here we go…

  1. All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 2 1/2 cups
    Soda Bicarbonate – 1 tsp
    Baking Powder – 1 tsp
  2. Powdered Sugar – 2 cups
  3. Butter – 3/4 cup (170 gm), softened
  4. Yogurt – 1 cup, room temp
  5. Hot Milk – 1/2 cup
  6. Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp

Preheat the oven @ 180 C, 10 minutes before baking.

Sift together all purpose flour, baking powder & soda bicarbonate. Beat softened butter, powdered sugar, hot milk, yogurt & vanilla essence together till light & fluffy. Fold in the sifted flour. Line a muffin/cupcake tray with liners. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 mins.

Notes: This is originally a cake recipe, so you can bake it as a cake also. For the above mentioned qty, you can use a 8-9 inch round cake tin. I made only half the qty mentioned above & got 12 standard size cupcakes. I stored the cupcakes at room temp for 3 days in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: My friend, Dolly Aunty

Hersheys “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (113 gms) butter
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk/water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk/water, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk/water, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Notes: I used water instead of milk. I made only half the qty of icing. The consistency of the icing depends on the qty of water added. For the icing consistency seen in the picture, you need to add more water. The cupcakes need to be cooled completely before frosting.

Why not leave a comment? Quick, head on over to MariasMenu.com for more tasty, delicious and simple recipes! Remember to check out the Recipe Index to find some easy-to-cook dishes. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about MariasMenu!


Powered by WordPress | Theme by DigitXP Entries RSS Comments RSS